Clinton visit stokes excitement, book sales

Hillary Rodham Clinton will visit Saratoga Springs this month to boost sales of her latest book.

The former secretary of state and potential Democratic presidential contender will sign copies of “Hard Choices” at 12:15 p.m. July 29 in Northshire Bookstore Saratoga.

The store started selling 1,000 tickets to the event at 10 a.m. Monday. Each ticket is free with the $28 purchase of the hardcover book. More than 700 were sold by 3:45 p.m. Monday, according to a bookstore employee who said she expected the tickets to sell out by the store’s 9 p.m. closing time.

Juliette Price, 24, of Albany phoned the bookstore at around 12:30 p.m. and purchased four copies of the book. That allows her and three friends to meet the former First Lady and senator from New York, who is considering a presidential run in 2016.

“I do feel lucky,” said Price, an avid reader who studied political science. “I’ve been to more than 50 book signings and I know the more high-profile the person, the smaller the chance to get in.”

Price already owned a copy of Hard Choices and recently cracked it open. She said she and her friends had grown up during the Bill Clinton presidency and felt inspired by what Hillary Clinton went on to accomplish.

“Whether or not she runs or wins, she has really cracked open the door for so many young women who are interested in leading public lives of service,” said Price, who works in education. “It’s an opportunity to shake her hand, see if she’s a real human being.”

Published this year, Hard Choices focuses on Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. Reports say Simon & Schuster paid Clinton an advance of around $14 million to publish the book and may not recoup its costs due to relatively sluggish sales.

Clinton would become the most prominent author to visit Northshire Bookstore’s Saratoga Springs shop since it opened last August at 424 Broadway.